Report of Mt. Olive Baptist Church for the Years of 1914, 1915, 1916

About the Project

Richard Henry Boyd, commonly known as the Rev. Dr. R. H. Boyd, was a minister and businessman who founded the National Baptist Publishing Board and the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. Born enslaved in Mississippi, Boyd moved to Texas after the Civil War and was ordained as a minister in 1871. Boyd served at several churches throughout the state of Texas and as a district missionary for the Texas Negro Baptist Convention. While in Texas, Boyd became concerned that Baptist publications and Sunday school materials produced by white people did not meet the needs of African American Baptists. In 1896, Boyd moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and founded the National Baptist Publishing Board so that African American Baptists could produce and consume their own religious materials. The National Baptist Publishing Board printed and distributed periodicals, song and lesson books, and various other spiritually themed titles for African American Baptist churches. By 1921, the board was printing 15 different periodicals with a combined circulation of over 7.5 million. More than 120 years after its founding, the National Baptist Publishing Board, now known as the R.H. Boyd Publishing Company, continues to provide resources for African American churches and communities across the country.

Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church was founded on March 10, 1887, when Rev. R.T. Huffman, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and a number of his followers set out to form a new congregation. After meeting in a basement, the congregation raised enough money to build a church building atop the basement that could seat up to 1,200 people. Following Rev. Huffman's death, Rev. Charles H. Clark was elected pastor. Beginning in the 1890s Mount Olive served as the home of the National Baptist Publishing Board and hosted the National Baptist Sunday School Congress. Rev. Clark and his successor, Rev. John B. Ridley, both served as chairman of the National Baptist Publishing Board. Help us transcribe this report from 1914-1916 to learn more about the inner workings of Mt. Olive Baptist Church.